


Afterlife

by BitterSweet_Tea



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Existential Crisis, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, My First Fanfic, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterSweet_Tea/pseuds/BitterSweet_Tea
Summary: Mark Edward Fishbach stared blankly, briefly. His mind had very little time to catch up with the action he commanded of his fingers, to remove 365 days worth of work. He was proud. He was surprised. He was astonished. A quick glance from his girlfriend to his co-host proved that they felt the same.He knew the most loyal of his - and Ethan's fans would uphold the message: Memento Mori. Some have more time, some have less.But, like most relatively paranormal stories, ghosts of the past come back to haunt them.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. The story of a lifetime

Mark Edward Fishbach stared blankly, briefly. His mind had very little time to catch up with the action he commanded of his fingers, to remove 365 days worth of work. He was proud. He was surprised. He was astonished. A quick glance from his girlfriend to his co-host proved that they felt the same.

The mood seemed to shift as all was processed. They had really done it! A smile grew from face to face, from those in the spotlight to those behind the scenes, and a spur-of-the-moment decision prompted Mark to hug Amy. To hug Ethan. He didn't not cry, for he knew the deaths of the characters Unus and Annus would be remembered. How could it not? While he must not have been the first, a channel like Unus Annus was definitely one of the most memorable. It's legacy would live past quarantannus, even. There was no reason to fear the disappearance of his work for as long as the possibility never existed.

That moment would live on as one of Mark's favorite memories. His feelings about the end hadn't shifted in the slightest over the few weeks it's been. He was a man all about lore, all about a story. His editor had done that work for him, but the true message was plain and simple. Even though the pandemic hadn't done the true potential justice - something that normally peeved him greatly - they had done the best they could, and he was satisfied with that.

He shoved aside the rest of the thoughts that came with sessions of reminiscing. He was a Hallmark-busy business boy ™ and his days of messing around with his pal Ethan were over. He stepped into his cozy office with bare feet, turned on the accent lights, then took a seat at his desk after grabbing a much needed melon bar from the mini fridge.

An odd sadness had sprinkled itself in today, it seemed. It wasn't exactly uncommon, but not usually an emotion he associated with Unus Annus. He wolfed down the bar accordingly before turning on his computer, and looking into the camera as the day's game loaded. 

\-----

Ethan was recovering from one of his infamously aggressive sneezes. Wasn't it funny how violently they hit him during recording? A shy grin made its way to his face and he continued chatting away to his long-distance audience. The moment was suddenly and quickly interrupted, words lost on his tongue as a call rang from his phone. Ethan usually meant to silence it during recordings. They were short enough that he could go without having to worry about a call or two, and the screen would light up in his full view if it was truly necessary that he answer. 

He turned to check the number, declining the call when he didn't recognize it. He typically didn't answer unknown numbers, especially considering his fans shouldn't know it. It would greatly disturb him if they did. Hell, he would be disturbed if they contacted his family. It was a shame that his friend Seán had to speak about it. He would never understand the au-

His tangent was immediately halted, crumbled away as a notification popped up. A voicemail? He rarely got voicemails from unknown numbers unless they were spam. Oddly enough, the call hadn't been labeled as such. He pressed the notification, finding the recording to be a few seconds long. It wouldn't hurt to have a quick listen, right?

An additional push of a button proved to be the right one. At least, in the direction of creeping him out. It was silent... save for some background noise for a solid 5 seconds at least. Part of Ethan, the part he liked to dub the Blankgameplays of his conscious, wanted to simply end the voicemail where it was. The lively, curious part of Ethan was eager to hear if a voice would ever sound. At the 7 second mark, his answers were satisfied. Unfortunately, not in the way he wanted. 

A very distinct, familiar voice played on the other side. It was his own. Voicemail Ethan was laughing at something, along with the chuckle of his friend and long-time idol Mark. It sounded almost like a clip from an Unus Annus video, but the laughter was a bit colder, a bit more bitter. It was sad, he realized - yet he couldn't understand for the life of him what the caller had to gain from sending this. 

Maybe it was a call to collab with Mark once more. It would be nice to do outside of the dead project, he supposed. The voicemail ended as he thought to make a call of his own.  
...As soon as he finished recording.


	2. Reunited

Mark truly hadn't been expecting the call. Though a familiar sense of excitement boiled its way through layers of skin and nestled deep into his bones, he found that a bitterness came with it. That was to be expected, he thought. He'd been working with the younger man for an entire year, and he had fun all the while. The feeling was akin to that of a sugar crash, but over a longer period of time and much more subtle. 

He pressed on, however. The door opened to a smiling face - Ethan's - then the two greeted each other and stepped inside. As one would expect, Mark hadn't noticed in the slightest how his shadow warped behind him, lightening in color while Ethan's - equally unnoticed - would become much darker.

\-----

"So," Mark started, his voice low.

"So?" Ethan repeated. While he tended to ramble as fast as possible, he knew Mark liked to gather his thoughts. He waited patiently for words to click.

"Look," Mark tried again, "why did you want to hang out?"

His tone wasn't accusatory, and he certainly didn't look angry, or bored. A glint in Mark's dark eyes simply seemed... Curious.

"Well..." Ethan considered detailing the circumstances of the strange voicemail. After all, he had no idea if he was feeding into someone's sick fantasy. Then again, he'd never felt such a... harmless pressure to do something. The voicemail was creepy, sure, but surely there was no harm in uploading the videos they filmed. He decided, against his better judgement, to tell Mark.

When the concern was relayed to him, Mark seemed pretty indifferent to it. Perhaps he was more familiar with such calls. Years of work in the field probably yielded a type of numbness Ethan wouldn't know. His friend turned to the side. He was thinking. Ethan could tell that much. What he didn't understand was the calm Mark carried with him. While he wasn't a totally energetic person like his online persona, he had a lack of emotion that disturbed Ethan the slightest bit. The younger place a hand on the wrist of the older. Touching was allowed. Neither of them were jumpy. 

Dark eyes turned back to meet the point of contact.

"Everything okay, Mark? You're quiet."

"Oh, yeah."

Just like that, the stoicism melted away. An uneasiness no longer lingered, and the chill of Mark's gaze once more became soft. That was... Very odd. Ethan wondered if it was his mind playing tricks on him, or if Mark knew something he didn't.

\-----

Mark wouldn't know Ethan's thoughts, but if he did, he would have to say it was the former of the two options. He'd never gotten a call like that, but that wasn't the reason he felt it was as important as Ethan was making it out to be. People prank called random numbers all the time. 

The difference between this call and other normal ones was that they knew specifically he was associated with Unus Annus. This meant - if it wasn't a friend or family member, Ethan had a stalker on his hands. It wouldn't be the first time Mark's run into a stalker, but he wasn't so sure for Ethan. At the very least, he could use his experience to guide his friend. He told the aforementioned these thoughts, and Ethan seemed to agree, albeit the notion seeming to leave him disturbed. You never think too much of it until it actually happens to you, after all.


	3. One Perspective Too Many

A dream. Mark dreamed a lot about... Interesting things. He's a Youtuber, after all. He sees interesting and crazy things all the time, and sometimes they build up and get a little too jumbled to process. Most would call this a nightmare, but the man preferred "spicy dreams". His dreams are less scary and more startling, after all. He had such a dream the same night that Ethan visited to record.

That is to say… the "dream" was not much of a dream at all. It was a memory. One of the infamous videos he filmed with Ethan. He remembered it quite well, really. Ethan had pointed it out to Mark from Mat's theory video about the characters they'd made, and whatever machine they were part of. 

The video clip was of Mark and Ethan, working together at the table Mark did most non-game videos at. They were looking down, while the perspect was from a camera filming from just behind where Amy stood. Mark couldn't remember why it was added into the video however, nor could he remember who exactly was the second filmer that day. It wasn't too out of the ordinary though. Amy was never the only person to be in the background in their videos. 

This is where the dream changed. The additional cameraman stood up from his or her spot and slowly approached the table, where Mark's memory of himself and Ethan seemed to be frozen in time - staring down at their nightmarish test of the day. Everything tilted, which the dreaming Mark realized to be turning. They looked at Amy. They looked at the chair they'd just been sitting in. That's when they saw it. The camera had been abandoned in the process of moving, and in the viewfinder flashed white eyes, and patterned white cloth over a body with a scarily similar physique to-

Mark was awake, a cold sweat clinging to his body. His eyes drifted around the room, lingering on dark shadows only apparent in the light of the early sunrise. He tried to blink away the sleepiness in his eyes to no avail, and his thoughts raced. It all lowered to a degree when he looked to the sleeping Amy at his side, but it didn't quench his desperate need for comfort. He sincerely hoped this wouldn't ruin his mood for the rest of the day.

\-----

Luckily for Mark, it didn't too much. He really just hoped it wouldn't happen again.

\-----

Mark just finished streaming the next episode of 3 Peens in a Pod. He didn't know why he had planned out his recording with Ethan to be the day before, but he was glad for the circumstances of the stream. 

The discussion of current events allowed him at least 20 or 30 minutes of preparation for the high-energy game approaching, and the game itself was The Forest. Usually he and Bob were too busy harping on Wade, so neither of his friends would notice slight tension on the edge of his voice. 

Why did he feel so bad? In hindsight, the dream was more confusing than scary. He felt childish in a way he didn't appreciate. Like he was overreacting. He hoped Ethan hadn't maybe made him sick, but he knew well that it would take more than a few hours overnight for symptoms to show up. 

What he really needed was to relax. Hours and hours were passing him by and he needed to slow down. The perfect thing for this was a good movie. A good book. A warm drink. As soon as the stream ended and he was sure everything was off properly, he rose from his desk to take care of himself. He had plenty of content to take care of the next few days if he needed it that badly.

\-----

"Hey Amy?"

A crisp and warm voice summoned Amy to the couch, where Mark was curled with Chica pressed into his side. He had his legs drawn up slightly on the couch, a book open in his lap and an empty mug resting on the table. Out of care, Amy reached for the mug. The action drew a small "thank you" from Mark, before he remembered his reason for calling her.

"Wait, before you take that."

She paused mid-reach and looked at him.

"Remember the grip strength episode Ethan and I filmed?"

"The first one?"

"Yeah."

"I do. Why?"

"Do you remember who the second person filming was?"

She hadn't been expecting that. His head was tilted slightly to the side in question, like a puppy. He watched her tentatively, as she took a moment to think back. Who had been behind her?

She was honestly surprised to find she didn't have an answer. Mark seemed to know before she could even say the words, and his whole demeanor fell in a way she couldn't explain. It was less relief and more sullen. More importantly, she hadn't recognized just how much tension was in his shoulders up until then. She sat at his side on the couch, nudging his arm gently with her elbow. 

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"I guess." He sighed. "I had a weird dream."

"Well that's usually normal. What makes this one different?"

He looked out towards the glass doors, that led to the patio and pool. He recounted the events of his... Nightmare to Amy, and she nodded in understanding when he paused. Encouragement to keep him going. He rested his head against her shoulder when he was done, now just waiting for her opinion on the matter.

"Hm... I might be stating the obvious here but the white eyes and clothes... In an Unus Annus video." 

"It sounds like how a lot of the artworks of Annus looked. When we looked at them on the stream." His voice got low and tense when he spoke, but had risen again to it's normal tone by the end of the sentence.

"Well, yeah. Again, it's the obvious answer. That doesn't really sound like enough to be a nightmare though."

"I would agree," he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck anxiously. "But it left me in pretty bad shape. I've been really anxious all day and I haven't been able to relax! Not even sitting and reading is helping!"

" Then is there something else that happened that's scared you? Maybe you subconsciously blocked something out from your memory." Mark froze. That was, admittedly, silly to ask. If he blocked out a memory, he clearly wouldn't be able to remember without some prodding. Then again...

He thought back to the dream, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. He thought back to the viewfinder. It was too brief of a view to determine if what he thinks he saw was truely there, but he's so sure he saw black edging in just on the frame of the screen. Clasped pale hands, black cuffs. Fisted tanned hands, white cuffs. 

Mark shook it all away quickly and suddenly. If anything, it would make most sense to assume that the dream was the result of the discussion he and Ethan had the previous day. Unus and Annus were gone for good, and it's not like dreams really predicted the future. Maybe. He had yet to get back on that one. But that's besides the point! 

With no words to form a response, he shrugged vaguely. Amy took this as an end to the conversation, which he was grateful for, and they rested almost silently together on the couch. Mark found he could relax now at her side, and he stroked Chica's head gently. He looked back towards the glass patio doors, leading to the backyard that accented a lot of his outdoor videos.

Something human stood just outside the doors, back turned to the occupants of the house. It's broad shoulders were slouched, though it was dressed neatly in a crisp white suit. It's nearly shoulder-length wavy hair swayed slightly in the breeze.

Mark knew, somehow, that it wasn't a danger. Perhaps it's because he figured he was imagining it. He did grab Amy's arm suddenly, out of the initial surprise, but he spoke no words when she looked at him out of confusion. He watched and waited as the figure stood silently for a moment, before walking out of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I know I just uploaded 3 times in less than a few hours, but I'm feeling pretty good and just uploading these as I type lol. 
> 
> I just wanted to clarify that I'm a person who very much likes action and a lot of angst, so there will probably be less filler-fluff chapters than one might be expecting. That's why there's a few things that have happened in these last chapters. Luckily, the characters are just as confused and have to sort out the pieces! A.K.A. A proper explanation will come soon enough.
> 
> In the meantime, thanks for reading! See you next chapter!  
> -Coco


	4. Connecting Pieces (1)

Ethan blinked slowly at his call history, thumb scrolling through the numerous calls he'd received over only a few hours. Mark had offered the quickest and easiest solution to his issue when it was first introduced: block the first number. The problem with said solution - that they both expected to come - is that whoever was bothering Ethan had multiple numbers, and no matter what Ethan himself couldn't seem to block them all.

He couldn't bring himself to move from his chair since the calls started. It was a waiting game, really, between recordings and waiting for the next call to come in. He refused to answer them but the lack of a voicemail disappointed him every time. Perhaps he would answer one of the next calls.

Speaking of next calls, he got lucky. Blessed with an actual name showing up on his screen, he pressed answer and was greeted by Amy's voice.

"Hey, Amy!" His voice wavered more than he meant it to. "How are you?"

"Good! I just had a quick question"

"Alright?" Anything for the chance at a conversation.

"Did you tell Mark anything odd when you came over the other day? I know you stayed after recording to talk a little bit and he's not been doing so well lately-"

Oh. She thinks he might've done something. He supposed it wasn't all that unreasonable to think, but he'd have to see for himself how serious she was talking here.

"No? Not that I know of. I just told him about a weird call I got."

A repeat explanation of their conversation later, Amy hummed in understanding. "That does help clear things up a bit," she sighed, "he had some sort of nightmare about one of the videos and it freaked him out. Ever since then I think he's been trying to figure out himself what happened and why. It's kinda like when you walk in on some dude pinning red strings to a board, you know?"

"That doesn't sound like an overreaction to you?"

"It does. That's why I'm worried. I think he thinks it's something paranormal, but I couldn't tell you why. I've tried asking about it sometimes but he doesn't say anything. Like he's embarrassed to tell me what he wants to know."

"Are you asking me to intervene?"

"I'm asking if you could give it a shot. He wouldn't like it if I brought it up to anybody else."

Ethan didn't need to think twice. He would take any opportunity he could to help his friend, and it would take his mind off of the calls. "Just give me a date and consider it done."

\-----

A knock on the door drew Mark out of a trance. He hadn't done anything Youtube-wise today, rather choosing to spend his time staring at what could only be described as a wall of handwritten notes. Some he wrote - some he didn't - but it all looked like it was the same regardless.

Mark was a man all about lore. All about a good story. He never totally considered the existence of ghosts, however. Time was something he thought about on occasion, and the inevitability of death. It was the entire point of Unus Annus, after all, but by had they never brought up the possibility of an afterlife? Nobody knew what came after death, of course.

He remembered the professional ghost-hunting video they did, in which the spirit box spoke the name of his father. Cliff. They hadn't planned anything of the sort to make it spooky or scary, and he didn't expect true results from it either. But... If that was real, then who's to say he isn't being haunted? He felt crazy for even suggesting it. For wanting it.

He didn't realize he was having another crisis until Ethan's voice called his name. What was he doing here?

"Come in?" Mark looked up from his tangled fingers to see his friend come in. He wasn't sure if she knew, but he could see Amy standing warily in the hall. He wondered if she called Ethan over. He tried hard to be careful with what he told her. He wouldn't deny her company if she really wanted to know, but she left the two of them alone as soon as Ethan walked in.

"Hey dude" the younger said casually, immediately taking a seat on the nearest sittable surface. "Wanna talk about this?" A jab of his thumb indicated the notes. He wasn't great at confronting people, but he didn't want to make Mark uncomfortable by being serious about it.

"Not really," Mark admitted. "But I don't think I have a choice." He launched into the next part of his sentence, "Have you been seeing things, lately? Like not just something in the corner of your eye but a full-on person? Since we last talked."

"I can't say I have" Ethan hummed, looking at the notes. He couldn't read them from his spot, so he made a move to get up. Mark would say something if he didn't like it.

"Right, well. Morning after you came over I had a freaky dream. Amy told you about it, right?"

"Brie-" Ethan had no chance to finish as Mark continued, "-And I just wanted to relax and try to get it out of my head, and Amy came to sit with me. The weirdest thing happened then! I SAW Annus."

Ethan's dumbfounded look didn't help in the slightest. "Like... Annus from Unus Annus? I know you know they were just characters."

"I do!" He replied, "...or so I thought! But ever since then I keep thinking I see one of them looking around a corner, watching me. Watching Amy. Hell, sometimes I think Amy knows they're there! I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing and then it'll all end, but I want answers before I never get the chance again!"

"So you've been trying to connect pieces." Ethan finished for him. He crossed one arm over his chest, the other hand raised to stroke his chin in a very detective-esque manner. "There's no evidence that you're remotely close to the right answer, though. All we have is your word."

"But you believe me, right?" Ethan hesitated. Mark saw the pause. Ethan nodded anyways, and that was all that was needed to spur him into an explanation. "Great. You see those notes on the wall?" Another nod. "-I never wrote the green ones. They just _showed up_ yesterday morning when I came in to work and I didn't know what to do with them so I ignored it. I left for a break to do other stuff and when I came back there were more! I know for a fact it's not Amy because she was with me that whole break." He pointed a jokingly accusing finger at that last sentence.

Ethan chose to just nod and agree with him. "So then I had another dream with Unus and Annus in it last night, but I didn't feel all anxious and shivery when I woke up. Now look-" he stood from his chair and, in a single long stride, tapped a specific paper taped to the wall. "I wrote down the dream here."

\-----

_Mark sat in what looked like an office, nestled comfortably against Amy - the SCP, not the person - and gazing at the screens lining the walls. Pieces of an image combined to form two giant spirals on either side of a desk, where two figures resided._

_The first was sitting in the chair at said desk, whereas the second stood and tapped away at a phone. It rang a familiar dial sound, but to no avail. The standing figure hung up, then reached into a bucket of phones. He pulled out a random phone and tapped some more. The same noise. No luck._

_"Who are you trying to call?" Mark spoke up. They froze, heads turning too slightly for light to make their identities known._

_"Ethan." They spoke in unison._

_"Why?"_

_"It's not your business. Not yet."_

_"But you've been trying to call me. Just… not through calls."_

_"You would be right, but you still know not who we are."_

_"You aren't Unus and Annus?"_

_There was a silence, then the younger man spoke._

_"That information can't be disclosed until you figure it out for yourself."_

_"Why? That makes no sense. You can't just tell me?"_

_Another pause._

_"We aren't supposed to be talking to you." The lower voice growled. "We shouldn't even be in this room."_

_"Why? You're the magical beings. You were supposed to be immortal."_

_"Which we are," the growl got deeper. "But we can be imprisoned for a very long time too. You've been in here for far too long anyways. Go away."_

_Mark sat up from his seat in alarm, startled to find the hands of SCP Amy holding him back. "You can't tell me anything else???" They didn't answer besides the mumble of what sounded like a phone number and a time, and Mark's eyes forcibly shut before sounds of the morning signalled his awakening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I might upload again really soon after this! That's because I decided to split some of what I wrote into a second part to the same chapter. See you next chapter!
> 
> -Coco


	5. Connecting Pieces (2)

Mark inhaled to continue his confession, but Ethan cut him short by raising both hands. 

  


"Woah woah woah! Repeat those numbers!"

  


Mark did so. Ethan gaped for a moment. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it when the screen turned on, going to his call history and starting to scrolling, then stopping suddenly. He looked up to tell Mark something, but hesitated when he saw the slightly ill expression his friend wore.

  


"What?"

  


"Nothin'."

  


Ethan raised an eyebrow at this, but held out the phone for Mark to take. He shuddered when his own hand made contact with Mark's oddly cold fingers, but didn't mention it quite.

  


It took Mark a second to find what Ethan wanted him to see, but his tired eyes widened slightly when he did. A number by the same ones told to him in his dream, and at the same time. He looked up. 

  


"Call the number back." He returned the phone to it's owner, who nodded.

  


"I will later. Are you feeling okay?"

  


"Perfectly fine!"

  


He narrowed his eyes at Mark. His friend wasn't the type to lie about his condition. He, of all people, knew how bad it could get if something serious went left untreated. Fortunately, the two of them thought alike.

  


"Don't give me that look. Do you think I'd lie to you if I was feeling bad?"

  


Ethan turned away a bit and shrugged, much to Mark's dismay. He then looked back with a stern expression.

  


"I don't. But make sure you get some rest and take a nap or something. You look like those dreams haven't been letting you sleep peacefully."

  


Mark certainly felt like he hadn't been sleeping peacefully, whether he had another mysterious dream or not. He figured it wouldn't hurt to take a nap, but it might be harder to get to sleep in the middle of the day. 

  


"Yeah yeah, I got it. Do you plan on staying longer? If not, I might as well take the notes down and try to get a nap in before I gotta walk the dogs."

  


"Oh, I can take them down for you! I'll just let Amy know when I'm leaving."

  


The now chipper tone in Ethan's voice, seemed to be infectious. The corners of Mark's mouth wanted to become a smile, and briefly a thought ran though his mind that everything would be okay. That they'd figure it out. He went to the door of the office, looking down the hall and beckoning his loyal dog Chica to join him as he walked to his bedroom.

  


Ethan looked up at the notes, feeling satisfied with the turn the conversation took. He started plucking notes off the wall and piling them on the corner of Mark's desk so he could decide what to do with them. Part of him wanted to read the letters, but he figured he would just have to ask first when he next visited. Given the circumstances, that was likely to be soon.

\-----

Ethan walked into his own home feeling pretty good. He'd been successful in calming Mark down. Before he left, Amy checked on Mark and reported back that he was sleeping like a baby, his dog resting with him and licking his face. He could only imagine the scene, with the valiant Chica protecting him! It made him smile. He put up his keys and took his wallet out of his pocket, then slipped off his jacket and scarf. It was a chilly day out but his house was nice and toasty when he returned.

  


He was greeted by his adorable dog Spencer! He kneeled for the shy doggo, and pet him a few times before Spence rested a paw on his knee. Ethan will never get over how cute he is. He picked up the doggo and went to sit on his living room couch, in a swift move pulling out his phone. It was already on the screen he needed, so he simply clicked the number to dial it back, and sat as the phone rang.

  


His breath felt frigid in his lungs when he heard another phone start ringing in his house. It didn't sound like his, nor any old ones he would have hidden away somewhere - not even considering the fact they would be turned off.

  


It rang once. Twice. Then it stopped. The phone had been answered. Ethan stared as the timer on the call went up second by second, before he stammered out, "H-h...hello?"

  


_"Ethan?"_ Mark's voice greeted him. 

  


"W- Mark? But I th-"

  


_"Ah ah ah,"_ he interrupted, _"not your Mark."_

  


"So... Annus, then."

  


_"No comment."_

  


"You really are real." The surprise became apparent in his voice. The solution to their problems was just a call away, and now they could get this over with. "I thought we made you up!"

  


_"You did. But we became real. We were given life through you before you ended it."_

  


"Oh... Oh. I... We didn't know-"

  


_"I know. And it's alright. My partner is more forgiving than I am, but he's convinced me to not bury you alive."_ The deep growl made Ethan gulp nervously. Of all the things that could have come to fruition along with their being, it was the violence. Lovely.

  


_"At the stage we are at, neither of us can contact you more directly than this, and this might be the last time we have such an opportunity."_ Annus continued. _"We have yet to really get to Mark, but efforts have been made"_

  


"Yeah, pretty pathetic efforts" Ethan laughed without thinking. "You guys have been freaking the fuck out of him for days now."

  


_"Is that so? Based on his responses in his dream, we supposed he was okay. An apology is in order, in that case."_

  


There was silence between the two of them for a moment, then some shuffling sounded from the side of the two entities.

  


_"W- give it back, you douche!"_

  


_"You're just going to keep threatening him!"_

_  
_

_"Am not!"_

_  
_

_"Are too!"_

_  
_

"Guys! Now's not the time." Ethan didn't expect to be parenting supernatural figures through a phone call but he was certain any bystander would find it entertaining.

  


A huff, a grumble. _"sorry."_ They hummed.

  


It was Unus's turn to speak.

  


_"we had more matters to speak of than just wasting time to catch up. W_ _e need your help, Ethan. Both of you."_

_  
_

"and you couldn't have told Mark this why? He said you wouldn't tell him anything."

  


_"we still can't. Not here. We need to be allowed into your home, Ethan. When we are in your domain, we will be safe to discuss anything and everything. When you have a chance, relay this to Mark: at 3:00 pm on Saturday, I will knock on your door. Open the door, and leave it open for at least 30 seconds before closing it. Go to the nearest mirror - preferably a full-length one, and I will meet you there. Annus will do the same for Mark, at the same time."_   


_  
_

These weird steps left Ethan very confused, but he nodded. He knew very well that the counterparts were easily capable of murder without regret and he didn't want to anger them. "Okay? I'll let him know when I see him."

  


_"good. That's all we can discuss right now."_   


_  
_

"W- but-"

  


_"No. When the time comes, we can spend as long as you want or need to talk."_   


_  
_

"...okay. Bye-" he jumped a little to hear the click of the call being ended. 

  


That was... Extremely odd. Not only did they still explain very little still, but now he has to invite them into his home?, What were they, vampires? They ended the conversation before he could even ask questions, while for Mark they wouldn't answer the questions he _could_ ask. 

  


He considered telling Mark as instructed or risk his own punishment to keep him safe. He knew they were dealing in something dangerous, and a chill in his bones told him he wasn't going to like where this was going at all.


	6. Downhill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick heads up- one of the scenes in this chapter has a similar alternating style to The Truth of Unus Annus, so each ----- means it's switched from Unus/Ethan to Annus/Mark or vice versa.
> 
> Italics is Unus and Annus speaking (depending on perspect) while normal text is Ethan and Mark. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you next chapter!

Ethan struggled to decide so much, in fact, that he hadn't mentioned a single thing to Mark up until the Saturday he was dreading.

Mark seemed to be doing much better, unaware of Ethan's worries. He had noticed that something was up, but he really didn't want to pry into his business. Ethan was the type to express his feelings - moreso than Mark - so Mark would find out if it was bad. Right? Well... Yeah. 

After breakfast and taking the next couple of hours to record, Eef glanced at the time. It was 12:00 already. Just 3 hours. In a split second decision - which Ethan felt selfish for later - he picked up his phone and called Mark. If Mark _decided_ to open the door or not on his own, then perhaps Ethan wouldn't be blamed for whatever happens next.

\-----

Mark's phone rang. He was currently standing in his backyard and enjoying the surprisingly cool but sunny day while his dogs ran about. Days like these used to not be a common occurrence when he first moved here, but he's found that rain was becoming a bit more common, and the days remained hotter, longer.

He better see who's calling him before they hang up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, raising an eyebrow at the contact name before answering.

"Yello."

"Hey, Mark. I called back that number like you told me."

"And?"

"It was them."

The whole mood outside shifted almost instantly. The wind licked at exposed skin but the sun seemed to be trying to burn him at the same time. He whistled for the dogs to return inside before following, and he composed himself once the door was shut behind him. 

"What did they say?"

"Not much, actually? They want to talk in person, but we gotta let them in first."

"And ho-"

"I'm getting to that. At 3:00, today, they'll knock on the door. You gotta open it and leave it for at least 30 seconds, then shut it and look for a mirror? They'll show up there."

"At least they thought to social distance." He joked bitterly, "but seriously, they sound like vampires." He looked at the time from his watch. 3 hours. "Did you get to ask them any questions?"

"They didn't answer anything I asked, really."

"Do you trust it?"

"Hell no!" Ethan answered quickly, with confidence. "But I'm afraid it'll end up worse if I don't do it.",

Mark weighed the options. In theory, he could just not do it and leave Ethan to deal with it alone. Then again, they both could be left in hot shit if he doesn't. He decided he would rather participate to keep Ethan safe rather than save his own skin.

"Alrighty," Mark responded with confidence, "I'll do it."

He could hear Ethan let out a sigh of both relief and fear.

"Great, then. Call me afterwards."

"Will do."

Ethan was the first to hang up.

\-----

1 pm came and went. 2 did the same. Ethan had been standing and watching his front door cautiously for at least the last half hour, and he knew Mark would most likely be doing the same. A watch on his wrist told him that he was only 3 minutes from the midday witching hour.

It was almost as if in the blink of an eye, how the 3 minutes passed quickly and the doorbell rang. The chime shook Ethan to his core, like nails on a chalkboard or biting into ice cream, but he reaches for the lock, then the handle.

\-----

Mark opened the door to an empty doorstep, the brutal winds still breezing gently across the trees and grasses outside. He waited the 30 seconds, glad that whatever he was dealing with allowed him a possible final moment of peace. His eyes shined with reflected sunlight, and when time was up, he shut the door.

He walked the path to his room, having earlier noted the presence of the full length mirror. He was glad Amy was already out, otherwise she most likely would've been using it. While they didn't specify a mirror, he would feel much better speaking to his counterpart as if they were actually there.

\-----

Ethan opened the door, faced with a bright light from the mirror. As if it were a screen on a device, the mirror reflected the familiar black and white background, the same black chair from the final stream, and the black-suited person occupying said chair.

_"Have a seat, Ethan"_ Unus spoke cooly.

\-----

_"I'm so very glad you chose to comply today, Mark."_ Annus complimented, fingers clasped and hands resting on the higher of his crossed legs. _"Unus had doubts that Ethan would say a word."_

"Well he did" Mark tried to make light of the conversation. It failed miserably in his head, but Annus seemed satisfied. Amused, even.

_"And we're all the better for it. Tell me, Mark. Why do you think I want to talk to you?"_

"uh.... So you can show us that you're real?"

_"close, but no dice. We did indeed want your recognition of our existence, but you have something more that we don't have."_

_\-----_

"well I don't know what that is, then." Ethan hoped his worry didn't show. Was he supposed to know?

_"That's fine. We figured you might not. Tell me, Ethan, in the video where you revealed the truth... Why was it that you as characters were so upset?"_

"well... The idea was that we wanted - needed more time to do what we truly wanted to do. We only had a year to do everything and nothing more."

_"exactly."_ Unus's voice sounded almost like a hiss of wind.

\-----

" _you were just acting, though. For us, that need was very real. Tangible. It weighed on our souls the closer we got to the end and then it was over... But it wasn't."_

"It wasn't?" Mark asked.

_"It wasn't."_ Annus nodded, _"see, where you went wrong in this whole grand scheme of yours is the fact that you-"_ he pointed a finger at Mark for emphasis, " _-didn't consider the possibility of an afterlife."_

"There wasn't a need for one! As far as we knew, you weren't even real. How is that supposed to be our faults?"

_"You're right. It isn't entirely you to blame. The audience themselves were an extremely influential force. See, when you made videos like the pee sauna and... Drinking it, you did that at the will of the audience. Such concepts like that, where fate works to the will of sheer brain power - it's what gave us life. We became real because they believed it. Unfortunately, we don't have **time** to track down every single subscriber to make it happen again. It can't happen again because you convinced them it was so."_

\-----

"So what do we do?" Ethan's tone held clear determination. Whatever he needed to fix, he would certainly try.

_"...Would you like to sing a song with me?_ "

"Huh?"

_"Just sing."_

\-----

_"Digging.. our friend... A grave."_

Almost as if by a dormant instinct, Mark joined in on the next line. 

"Digging our friend a grave."

\-----

_"When the road gets rough ahead-"_

"-You can just dig a grave for your friend instead." Ethan didn't like the look that gleamed in Unus's eyes.

_"No, don't go back to that comfortable bed-"_

"Oh, you'll dig a grave with me."

_Ethan jumped up when Unus's arms warped and twisted, clawed hands snaking through the mirror._

_\--_

_"You'll dig a grave with me!"_

_Mark's legs and feet and everything felt numb as he was dragged through the mirror, though he still made an effort to claw at the ground._

_\---_

**_"You'll dig a grave with me!"_ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_._ **

**_\-----_ **

Amy unlocked the door and stepped into the house, breathing in the warm scents of the kitchen. Her dogs, Chica and Henry, ran up to her (strangely, shivering. Did they see something outside that spooked them?), but she was not greeted by Mark. He might be recording, but he hadn't mentioned it at all. He certainly wasn't recording when she left. 

She walked upstairs, and down the hall, surprised to find she couldn't even hear him shouting through the door. It wasn't like the room was totally soundproofed, nor did he play games quietly. 

"Mark?" She called. No answer. She called again as she got to the last door in the hall, and found that it was already open to what looked like a minor crime scene. Sheets and blankets were thrown off of the bed, some items were knocked off of nearby shelves, and she saw tiny scratches on the floor, almost like a cat had made them. Only difference was there was a teensy bit of blood dribbled between the marks. They led towards the mirror, which was cracked, and even so there was still no signs of life besides her.

"...Mark?"


	7. A Time and a Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normal text- Mark and Ethan
> 
> Italics - Annus, Unus, and Amy

Mark's fingers felt numb and heavy, hand hanging off the edge of a cold and hard surface. A chill ran through his body and he shivered, which didn't help his pounding head.

An audible groan next to him told him that someone else felt the same.

Wait.

He's not alone? Where is he?

He shot up into a sitting position, arms shaking badly as he propped himself up on them. Ethan was laying on the floor and... Sitting next to himself. Two Ethans, one dabbing at a cut on the other's face as he or it squirmed uncomfortably.

"Ethan?"

Both turned to him immediately, and that's when it was made clear. The one on the floor had normal eyes, albeit rather dull ones. The one with the gauze and alcohol featured dark eyes - so much of a void that one wouldn't be able to tell where the iris ends and the sclera starts.

**_"_ you _."_** Mark couldn't help but let the malice lace into his voice. His memory was failing him but he knew that the creature he'd created had betrayed him in some shape or form, and now it was sitting in front of him like it had done nothing.

He didn't hear Ethan asking him to stay still when he got to his feet, but he had he would've understood why. A wave of dizziness came over him, and he feared he would hit the floor if not for a strong arm wrapping around his waist. Suddenly, he was face to face with his white-eyed doppleganger. 

**_"Lay down."_ **

Mark complied, only because he thought he shouldn't anger them further. It wasn't apparent until he moved again that there was a pain across his chest - the result of a large and deep gash that he couldn't see through the bandages and red hoodie. He clasped his bandaged hands over his stomach while Annus stood at his side. Despite not being able to see any of their faces, Mark could certainly feel all of their eyes on him. It burned. 

"Now will you tell us what happened?" Ethan's tired, yet annoyed voice spoke.

_"You were kidnapped and now you're stuck with us."_ Unus stated.

"But you kidnapped us!" Mark grunted, feeling a twinge of pain from his wound. "You can't take us back?"

_"I'm afraid we aren't the ones who kidnapped you. We aren't the only entities you created, after all. We've been locked in here since we woke up. About a week or so after the final stream."_

"but you're also supposed to be pretty powerful. You can't just get us out?" Ethan spoke for both of them. Mark was thankful for this.

_"we were designed to be human, not magic. The only superhuman thing you gave us was immortality."_

"so you're - WE'RE stuck here forever until... The 'real' enemy is busy doing... What?"

_"I sense your obvious sarcasm and disbelief, but I promise you we're telling the truth. The Machine was not kind to us and, true to it's word, wants to become as real as it had been created to be. As far as I know, it simply impersonated the both of us in order to get to you."_

"... right, then. Say you're telling the truth. Why were we _actually_ the targets and where are we?"

_"Between time and space. In a void, if you will. All is possible and impossible here. It is our afterlife. It is where we are alive and dead. It's also where you died."_

"Died? We're dead?" The panic was evident in Ethan's voice. Somehow, the concept didn't bother Mark quite as much.

_"You're alive but also dead. In fact, you're neither alive nor dead. In other words, you don't exist. Neither do we. It's just that our relationship made a veil thin enough to see through. Thin enough to rip. We are remembered, but as far as any of your fans know, we are no longer in their realm. We're in an afterlife."_

Annus sat on the edge of whatever surface Mark was laying on, arms crossed and shoulders tense. He seemed more upset than his friend.

"So someone will have to notice that we're missing!" 

Unus and Annus looked at each other. Mark didn't like that look.

_"Not necessarily. We're remembered, but it's possible that we're merely a memory rather than a physical concept-"_

A shuffling outside of the door caught everyone's attention. Ethan quickly sat up and scrambled over to Mark, much to the protest of Unus. His cuts and bruises didn't hurt as much, and the longer one running down his arm was merely an ache.

Ethan didn't know why he moved though. Perhaps because where he was laying was closest to the door. He didn't like the vibes of the thing behind the door, so he moved away. Yeah. That made the most sense.

It seemed Unus - they really should give him a new name - had the same thoughts. He got up from his crouch warily. Annus stood as well, and stepped forward so his friend could duck behind him with the other two. The three of them were thankful for their friend, but feared he was being overconfident. His ego was a highlight of the channel, after all.

Several clicks and the sounds of unlocking locks echoed. Damn. Whoever was holding them had them locked down good.

The door opened to reveal Amy. But it didn't look quite right. Her clothes were black and white, similar to how Unus and Annus still wore themed clothing, and her eyes were full grey. It seemed that all those artworks of the angel Amy was enough to manifest her too. 

_"Amy!"_ Unus and Annus cried.

Annus began to make a move towards her, but he stopped short, a slight shiver coming over his frame. Everyone was confused,until they followed his gaze _._

Her hands were pinned behind her back, held by _long, snake-like arms_ that merely drifted out of the view of the doorway. They couldn't see who was holding her, but whoever it was roughly shoved her in and slammed the door shut. The locks sounded again, and the four found themselves stuck with a fifth.

_"You guys!"_ Amy (now they need a new name for her too?) dove to hug her friends, first Unus, and then Annus. She kissed the second on the cheek before he could return the hug, and Annus seemed to visibly relax when he had his arms wrapped around her. _If he had been waiting for her_ , Mark thought, _that would explain why he was so tense before. He didn't know if she was safe._

"So now you're here." Mark said. He watched the back of Annus's head as he simply nodded before resting on Angel Amy's shoulder.

_\-----skip-----_

The five of them were now sitting in a circle. Much like Ethan, Mark found that his pain had faded significantly, even if some actions aggravated it. They all stared at each other for a good silent minute or two before anybody spoke up. It was Ethan.

"So if you guys became real literally through manifestation... Does that mean other characters exist? Like Darkiplier and Blankgameplays?"

_Annus shrugged. "I'm sure they do somewhere. Just not here."_

"Huh. Is that good or bad?" Ethan looked to mark for this answer.

Mark was leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, one hand resting on his chest in an attempt to alleviate the remaining pain. "Uh... Probably bad? I mean, most of the egos end up hurting themselves and everyone around them in one way or another. Kind of the same with Seán's egos... Do you think they remember us?"

_"Your friends?"_ Amy tilted her head curiously, in a manner that resembled that of a puppy.

Mark nodded. "Unus and Annus said themselves we don't exactly exist here... How can you remember something that isn't real?"

_"well..."_ She hummed thoughtfully, _"maybe they do remember you, and they're trying to get help! We have to exist in some form because it wouldn't have been possible to get to you otherwise."_

_"That makes the most sense"_ Annus commented, _"It's as I said before. Our close relationship as character and creator made it possible to contact you. Perhaps it'd be easy to remember you outside of your realm as a result of memories with you."_

"In which case all of our friends would know we're missing!" Mark hummed, pleased with the answer. "If 'The Machine' tries to replace us, they'll figure out something is off. At the same time, our subscribers won't freak out if we're gone because they don't know us personally! That... Would be how it works, right?"

_"In theory, sure,"_ Unus nodded, _"But we also can't wait around for your friends to find us. They won't get anywhere unless we can get to them as well."_

"But we're locked up in here real good, and you two aren't any more powerful than we are besides your immortality." Ethan responded, "How do we get out?"

It took a minute of glancing between everybody as they used their brain power, then they leaned in to quietly start pitching in with their ideas.


	8. Meanwhile

The real Amy stood outside Ethan's house after a deep - and admittedly invasive - search. She, Tyler, and Bob were speechless. No words came from their mouths, no words came to mind. Everything was gone.

\------

_It started after Amy discovered the scene. She waited around for hours, calling Mark's phone repeatedly, calling the nearby hospital, calling anywhere he could've ended up. No results. She finally gave in to reporting him missing, asking for someone, anyone to come to examine everything. She wanted answers, and to know he was safe._

_After she was sure enforcement was on their way, she called all of their friends. Jack and Wade couldn't come immediately, of course, but Tyler and Bob offered to make the trip from their respective homes to keep her company. The three of them watched through the open front door as police carefully searched around the house for other signs of conflict._

_Chica and Henry, to keep them from getting in the way, sat loyally at Amy's side. She pet one of them - she couldn't tell who - then something occurred to her._

_"Can one of you try calling Ethan?"_

_Tyler was the first to have his phone out, clicking to call the contact and... Nothing happening. Unlike Amy's missed call to him before, Tyler's phone didn't even ring. Bob tried to call as well, only to have the same result._

_"What the hell?" Bob muttered in confusion, tapping the button multiple times with no results._

_Amy watched this happen, the moment interrupted by the approach of an officer._

_"Excuse me, Ms. Nelson?" The officer, with a gloved hand, held up a wallet. "Does this belong to you?"_

_"No, it's Mark's wallet."_

_"Well I must say, Ms. Nelson, you're beginning to look suspect for sure. I don't know that I've ever seen a missing person with a blank ID."_

_The three of them gaped at the license that was presented to them, all of the information - the name, the birthday, everything - gone and the photo blank. A credit card was presented with the same treatment, his name erased from the back._

_"Would you-" Amy didn't have to hear the rest before handing the dog's leashes off to one of her friends, making quick strides inside to find where they kept their more confidential papers. Nothing. Any information about Mark was once again erased or missing entirely._

_She presented them to the officer for more evidence, a suggestion coming to mind that left a pit in her stomach. "Um... Can I ask to leave the scene? I tried to contact one of our friends - Ethan Nestor - but he didn't answer and I'm afraid something happened to him as well."_

_After a moment of silence, a card with a number was handed to her, and she joined Bob and Tyler outside once more. "Let's go. We need to make sure Ethan is okay."_

_They nodded, already ready to get going and find more answers._

_\------_

So here, the real Amy stood outside Ethan's house after a deep - and admittedly invasive - search. She, Tyler, and Bob were speechless. No words came from their mouths, no words came to mind. Everything was gone.

While Tyler called the officer back to report the second missing person (after double checking that he also hadn't ended up elsewhere), Amy held the fearful Henry in her arms, and Bob had to give the concerning news to their friends further from home.

What on Earth?

Where could they have gone?

Who would put so much effort into a kidnapping as to erase someone's existence?

How was such a feat even possible?

Why did it have to be them?

When did her phone start ringing? She looked at the caller, to find it only had a number. Typically, she didn't trust such numbers because they were usually spam calls, but something in her gut told her that it was bad. To get as far from that number as possible. She let it ring, reading the numbers over and over and memorizing them until it ended. At first she didn't understand what about the number was so jarring to her being, but then she realized as the missed call notification popped up.

"XXX-XX-XX-XX" she whispered.

"What?" Bob hummed, who'd just gotten off of the phone.

"That number just called me. But the format is wrong." She held up her phone to display it.

"Weird. Good thing you didn't answer it... Watch out in case it calls again." He tried to keep his answer casual, wanting to keep her more cheery than confused and afraid.

Amy nodded. "You too."

\-----

_Meanwhile...._

**_"I'm shocked_** ** _your number didn't work."_** The voice said softly, gesturing a phone toward Annus. _**"Surely she would recognize the 000:00:00:00 pattern."**_

_"She's a smart lady. She wouldn't have answered a call like that whether it was intriguing or not."_ Annus spat at them.

His arms were tied painfully tight behind his back, and his ankles chained to the floor. He'd been taken from the others only a few minutes ago, to provide his phone to the figure. This room was the only one where phones worked properly, so they were still allowed to have them back in their room. 

He tried to annoy the voice as much as possible as to keep him busy.

_**"I would watch how you speak to me unless you want a scar identical to your human half's."**_ clawed fingers tapped viciously against the desk.

In all honesty, the swirling panels on either side served only to incapacitate. It aggravates Annus, and makes Unus upset. Neither of them wanted to be in there for long, but they tried to stall often anyways. It's resulted in fighting back in the room more than once.

Sometimes Annus wondered why. Perhaps it was the trauma of being erased, with the black and white pattern being a painful reminder of their deaths. Either way, it was the swirling that left a blank in Annus's memory.

One minute, he'd been listening to the voice, next he was on the floor with a new cut deep in his side. His white shirt was stained black as he bled, but he was used to pain. 

_"Does that mean we're done here?"_ He choked out weakly with a shit-eating grin.

**"Precisely."**

The chains released on his feet, but he had no time to move before a hand covered his face and he was lifted. At least Amy had been handled better than this. He was carried to the room, where sound of clicking barely reached his ears. The jingle of keys. A creak as the door opened. He was tossed in and landed with a grunt as the door slammed shut and they were locked in once more.

His side ached, and his tired brain wanted to lash out at something. Anything. He chose to take it out on whoever's hands were trying to reach the wound. He could tell it wasn't Amy, and the others wouldn't care as much.

"Cut it out." Mark retaliated, gently smacking his hand away. "You're just gonna hurt yourself more."

_"Not if I hurt you first."_ Annus huffed.

"I don't see how you would." Mark slapped away another hand as he worked. "You have the scratch of a newborn kitten."

_"I expected you to say something more derogatory."_

"Like what?"

_"A seal with no flippers."_

That earned mixed reactions from the rest of the inhabitants, much to Annus's pleasure. 

"Yeah, nah. That's more of an online-personality thing. I'm done now, by the way."

Annus sat up with a slight smile. _"Aren't you glad we exist?_

"Of course, but I'm just glad to know there's an afterlife to begin with."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is my first fanfic on here :)   
> I've tried writing stories before but they weren't really great ^^''  
> Constructive criticism is welcome as long as it's constructive and not rude! I'll try to update whenever. Sorry for lack of a schedule.
> 
> Have a lovely rest of your day!
> 
> -Coco


End file.
